Adams County Board unanimously approves $61 million 2024 budget

November 15, 2023 | By J. Robert Gough, Publisher

QUINCY — The Adams County Board unanimously passed its 2024 million budget at its meeting Tuesday night.

The overall budget of $61,472,277 includes $21.9 million in the county’s general fund, which makes up a majority of salaries and day-to-day operations, and $39.5 million in other funds, including county highway, health and ambulance budgets.

The budget is nearly 5 percent higher than last year’s, primarily due to increases in salaries and labor cost increases. Finance Committee Chairman Bret Austin said the county has had to make those increases because of what he called “a hyper-competitive” hiring market.

With $55.7 million in 2024 revenue projected, Austin said the county will roll over some revenues from 2023, including ARPA funds that have not yet been spent.

With the budget approved, the County Board will now focus on the property tax levy used to help pay for it. The Board will vote in December on a tax rate that will have a slight decline, but with a projected property value increase of 7.18 percent, the county’s share of revenue should increase nearly 5 percent. State law requires a Truth in Taxation hearing if the increase is going to be more than 5 percent, but the County is considering holding a hearing, even if the increase is just short of that.

Part of that levy will include the new tax to support the recently created Adams County Veterans Assistance Commission. It will have a first-year budget of $325,000.

The Board also noted that Adams County EMS is fully-staffed. The department had a severe manpower shortage, but the County offered significant salary increases and director John Simon has instituted the EMT Academy, which has served as a feeder program to help fill the gap.

Also the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center now has 17 juveniles housed there. The facility had suffered from lower numbers, but now is housing juveniles from outside Adams County and receiving revenue for that.

In other action, Transportation, Building and Technology Chairman Dave Bellis said courthouse mold remediation would soon be underway.